Chickenpox
by Agent Dark Moose
Summary: [Dead as of 9-16-04] When Yusuke and Kuwabara drag Kurama and an unwilling Hiei to the arcade, Hiei catches a terrible disease. That disease is... the chickenpox? (YAOI, H-K)
1. To the Arcade!

Chickenpox  
  
By: Agent Dark Moose  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Summary: When Yusuke and Kuwabara drag Kurama and an unwilling Hiei to the arcade, Hiei catches a terrible disease. That disease is . . . the chickenpox? (oO;)  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own YYH. I wish I owned Kurama, but I don't.  
  
~Guide~  
  
~+~ Location Change  
  
*** Time change  
  
_. . ._ Emphasized  
  
~*+*~ Time AND Location Change  
  
Chapter One: To the Arcade!  
  
=========================================  
  
Kurama sighed as he walked into his house. Today had been another exhausting day at school, and the kitsune was getting bored after having no new missions from Koenma recently.  
  
The fox walked into the kitchen and saw a note from his mother. Kurama picked it up and scanned over the note quickly.  
  
'Looks like kasaan won't be home for two weeks . . . I guess she'll miss Christmas then . . .' he thought, turning to look at the phone. The message button was blinking rapidly.  
  
Kurama pressed the button and the mechanical-sounding voice flickered to life.  
  
"You have one new message." the machine said, and instantly Yusuke's voice came on.  
  
"Hey Kurama, Kuwabara and I are gonna go to the arcade. We want you and Hiei to come, too. Yes, Hiei. We're expecting you to get him to come. How? Aw, hell, do whatever you can to get that pyro-maniac to come. Promise him ice cream, or something! I have no idea. Just get him to come! See you there, Kurama!"  
  
Kurama grinned. So it wasn't exactly an official mission or fight, but getting Hiei to come to a human-infested video game arcade would be like an extremely entertaining battle.  
  
And right now, Kurama would do anything for a bit of excitement.  
  
~*+*~  
  
"I'm not going, fox!"  
  
"Come on, Hiei. Just for an hour or so; I promise it won't be that bad!" Kurama said to the fire youkai.  
  
The two were arguing outside in Kurama's backyard. Hiei was obviously in a tree, while the kitsune was forced to stand in the fluffy white snow that covered the ground.  
  
"Forget it, Kurama." Hiei responded from his perch in the tree.  
  
Kurama sighed in frustration. 'There's got to be a way to get Hiei to come . . . Aha!'  
  
Hiei glanced down at Kurama as he turned to walk away. "Where are you going, Kurama?  
  
"Obviously, you're too afraid that Kuwabara will beat you in a mere video game. How pathetic." Kurama said, grinning to himself.  
  
Predictably, there was a soft 'thump' as Hiei landed on the ground and ran up to walk next to the kitsune. "I'm not afraid of that oaf."  
  
"I know you aren't, Hiei." Kurama replied, chuckling as Hiei glared at him.  
  
"You owe me, fox." the Jaganshi muttered as the two youkai walked down the frozen roads to the arcade.  
  
=========================================  
  
A/N: Gomen! That was so short! I'll make up for it, I promise!  
  
Also, this is sort of a Christmas fic, but not really. I dunno. oO; Mostly I'm just doing it for the concept, but there's going to be some Christmas- ness in the end, too.  
  
~Agent Dark Moose 


	2. DDR and the Appearence of the Disease

Chickenpox  
  
By: Agent Dark Moose  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Summary: When Yusuke and Kuwabara drag Kurama and an unwilling Hiei to the arcade, Hiei catches a terrible disease. That disease is . . . the chickenpox? (oO;)  
  
Disclaimer: I own some lint, a shiny paperclip that I won't give to Youko, three nickels, and a left shoe that I stole from a passerby.  
  
~Guide~  
  
~+~ Location Change  
  
*** Time change  
  
_. . ._ Emphasized  
  
~*+*~ Time AND Location Change  
  
Chapter Two: DDR and the Appearance of the Disease  
  
=========================================  
  
"Kurama! Hiei! You made it!" Yusuke exclaimed as the two demons walked up to the arcade doors. Kurama smiled at the hanyou while Hiei just did his trademark 'Hn'.  
  
"Shall we go in, then?" Kurama suggested, and the four of them walked into the arcade.  
  
Inside there were game consoles, systems, machines, and anything related scattered around the room. Teenagers and kids were testing their gaming skills, chatting, hitting on a member of the opposite sex, and eating. The music was so loud that it made Kurama and Hiei flinch a tiny bit, seeing as the sound was more intense for them with their youkai hearing.  
  
Kuwabara immediately dashed off to play the old-but still fun and classic- Asteroids, while Yusuke went to challenge the random fighting games. Kurama wandered around a bit, glancing at some of the games.  
  
The fox felt Youko give an eager twitch as he saw the simplicity of the money system. It would be a walk in the park to hack into the coin deposit inside the machines. Kurama forced him back down and walked back over to Hiei, who hadn't moved since they arrived.  
  
"Hiei, why don't you do something?" Kurama asked, predicting what the reply would be.  
  
Hiei growled quietly. "Do you even need me to answer that question, Kurama?"  
  
The fox shook his head. "No, I don't. But I was wondering if you want to at least browse the games with me. Even I have to admit that some of them are interesting."  
  
The Forbidden Child sighed as Kurama flashed him one of his 'special' smiles, a.k.a. the one that always forced Hiei to give in, as was the case with this situation. (A/N: That sort of rhymed . . . oO)  
  
The two youkai walked around the spacious arcade, every now and then stopping to check out one of the games. In the end, the two came to the conclusion that there was nothing worth their-well, actually it was Kurama's-money . . .  
  
. . . Except for one game.  
  
The two friends stood before the almighty game that many of us reading this have come to love and adore. We worship it. We obsess over it. We're addicted to it.  
  
Dance Dance Revolution!  
  
"This one doesn't look too bad." Kurama commented. "Do you want to try it?"  
  
"Hn." Hiei responded, and the kitsune took that as a yes.  
  
Both of them stepped onto the 'dance floor' that was in front of the two screens. Kurama placed two coins into the slot, and the game began.  
  
An instruction screen popped up, and Hiei smirked. This would be too easy. Just press the button with your foot that corresponded with the arrow that appeared on the screen at the right time. Nothing to it . . . right?  
  
Kurama grinned. He knew what Hiei was thinking, even if he didn't have a third eye. It had to be something along the lines of 'Nothing to it' and 'This will be too easy'. (A/N: Whoa, Kurama's pretty good. o.o;)  
  
The fox selected the song, Uber Rave [1], and the two youkai began to dance.  
  
~+~  
  
"Look! Those two boys are playing DDR!"  
  
"Wow, they're really good!"  
  
"Holy shitake mushrooms! That's a guy?!?" [2]  
  
Yusuke and Kuwabara heard the commotion and glanced up from playing air hockey. (A/N: Hey, that game is addictive!) When the two best friends heard that the players of the DDR game were a short goth and a feminine-looking redhead, the two of them raced over to the crowd that was gathering.  
  
Sure enough, it was Hiei and Kurama playing Dance Dance Revolution. Kuwabara and Yusuke gawked at how good their two friends were.  
  
"And on Uber Rave . . ." Kuwabara whispered in a whiny voice.  
  
The song ended, and the 'audience' applauded and cheered. The pair of demons blushed slightly, not noticing that they had been watched.  
  
Yusuke and Kuwabara pushed their way to the front to see Kurama and Hiei grinning-er, smirking at them.  
  
***  
  
Two hours later, the Rekai Tantei where panting like dehydrated horses. (A/N: oO; That was an odd simile.) They had been playing DDR repeatedly without taking a break for a drink. While Hiei and Kurama had only improved, Kuwabara and Yusuke stayed where they were: they sucked at DDR.  
  
Hiei got a kick out of seeing Kuwabara screw up royally as he attempted to dance, and did all that was in his power to not roll on the floor laughing his head off. Instead, he settled for dubbing the carrot-top as 'Kuwabaka'.  
  
Kurama laughed at the fire youkai's antics, and then glanced at his watch only to gawk in surprise. It was already 1:23 am?!?  
  
'If kasaan were home, she'd kill me.' Kurama thought as he grabbed his coat and headed for the door.  
  
Hiei immediately follow the kitsune, but suddenly was stopped.  
  
It turned out that some teenage punk had sneezed directly onto Hiei as he walked by. And, as you may have guessed, our pyro-maniac friend was not pleased with this.  
  
Hiei spun around to punch the baka in the face, but he was no where to be seen. (A/N: No, this will not be anything of importance. That baka will not appear again in the story. Sorry! I know, he was a great character . . .)  
  
Growling, Hiei ran out the door to catch up with Kurama. Yusuke elbowed Kuwabara, and the two friends went outside to catch up with the two youkai.  
  
Outside, Hiei was dunking his head in the snow, taking it out, and then dunking it in again. Kurama was starring at the fire apparition awkwardly, as if wondering why he didn't just start rolling in the snow instead.  
  
When Yusuke and Kuwabara saw this, they immediately broke down into hysteric laughter. Kuwabara was literally crying, and Yusuke was on his knees while holding his stomach as if he were afraid that it might burst.  
  
As Hiei finally stood up, shaking the melted snow out of his hair, Kurama and him continued walking home. Yusuke and Kuwabara, however, didn't notice this, so they just continued laughing uncontrollably.  
  
~*+*~  
  
The two youkai walked down the sidewalk towards Kurama's home in silence. The kitsune didn't even want to ask Hiei about why he had been putting his head the cold, fluffy snow.  
  
Kurama was pulled out of his thoughts as Hiei suddenly collapsed onto him. Reacting quickly, Kurama jumped out of his path and caught Hiei before he hit the ground.  
  
"Hiei, what's wrong? You can't be that tired from playing a video game!" the fox exclaimed, worry clearly in his voice. Hiei just blinked slightly at Kurama through his crimson eyes before fainting.  
  
=========================================  
  
A/N: Ooo, dramatic cliffhanger. oO; ::gets starred at::  
  
[1] Uber Rave is actually a song from FFR, a.k.a. Flash Flash Revolution. I just used it here . . . because . . . I wanted to? o.o  
  
[2] If I didn't know about YYH, this would be my reaction to seeing Kurama playing DDR. ^^; I don't actually think Kurama's a girl! It's a joke-type- thingamajig!  
  
Also, I know that it would take at least two days for the sickness to affect Hiei, but I've shortened it for story purposes.  
  
~Agent Dark Moose 


	3. A Foreign Sickness in a Foreign Body

Chickenpox  
  
By: Agent Dark Moose  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Summary: When Yusuke and Kuwabara drag Kurama and an unwilling Hiei to the arcade, Hiei catches a terrible disease. That disease is . . . the chickenpox? (oO;)  
  
Disclaimer: I own a platypus plushie! YAY! But nothing that relates to YYH . . . Hey, Moose made a rhyme! Relates an YYH! o.o Ok, I'll shut up now . . .  
  
~Guide~  
  
~+~ Location Change  
  
*** Time change  
  
_. . ._ Emphasized  
  
~*+*~ Time AND Location Change  
  
Chapter Three: Foreign Sickness in a Foreign Body  
  
=========================================  
  
Fifteen minutes after Hiei collapsed, Kurama reached his house, the unconscious Jaganshi in his arms. Quickly unlocking the door, Kurama ran inside and up to his room. Once there, the kitsune set Hiei down on his bed.  
  
After noticing that his temperature was higher than usual, Kurama ran into the adjacent bathroom and wet a washcloth with cold water. Dashing back to Hiei, the fox placed the compress onto his forehead.  
  
Kurama then took off Hiei's heavy black cloak and scarf, only to notice the give-away to his friend's ailment.  
  
On Hiei's neck, there were six noticeable red dots.  
  
***  
  
Hiei awoke later with a loud groan. His whole body ached . . . and itched terribly. As he moved to scratch his arm, a voice stopped him.  
  
"Don't even think about it, Hiei." Kurama said from his seat next to him. "You can't scratch those."  
  
"Why not?" Hiei asked, almost sounding like a little child questioning the rule about no dessert before dinner.  
  
"You have the chickenpox." Kurama replied, worry being shown in his emerald eyes. "I wasn't aware that youkai could get this disease."  
  
Hiei groaned again and sat up. "Obviously we can't, seeing as I've never heard of this sickness before."  
  
Kurama frowned. If youkai couldn't get the chickenpox, then Hiei's body would be weak in fighting the bacteria. 'He might never recover . . . or worse. Hiei could . . .'  
  
" . . .die." Kurama said out loud, finishing his thought.  
  
Hiei turned his head to the side and starred quizzically at Kurama. "Excuse me?"  
  
Kurama gulped. He couldn't bring himself to tell his best friend that he might suddenly kick the bucket. (A/N: I always loved that idiom . . .)  
  
'I won't tell him. After all, I could be wrong. It's not like I'm totally sure about this.' the kitsune thought to himself.  
  
"Um . . . I'm going to go get something to eat. Do you want anything?" Kurama asked, standing up. Hiei shook his head, and so the kitsune exited the room.  
  
Hiei sighed. It felt like Kurama was hiding something important from him.  
  
"Well, I didn't get a third eye implanted for nothing." Hiei said quietly, getting out of the bed and crossing the room to reach the door. One he got there, he pulled off the white bandanna to uncover the Jagan, which was glowing a soft purple.  
  
~+~  
  
Downstairs, the kitsune was standing by the microwave as he heated up a small bowl of ramen for Hiei and him. Even though the currently sick youkai didn't want anything, Kurama was making him something to eat anyway.  
  
Kurama suddenly felt himself go numb. His whole body froze, though the lids did close slightly over his blank eyes.  
  
But then as soon the sensation had started, it stopped. Kurama stood upright again, rubbing his forehead.  
  
"What was that?" he wondered out loud, hearing the microwave start beeping.  
  
Kurama shrugged it off as he opened the microwave and took out the bowl of piping hot ramen. 'I'll think about it later . . .'  
  
~*+*~  
  
"Hiei, I brought you some food even though you said that you weren't hun-" Kurama said as he entered the room, but cut himself off as he saw the look in Hiei's eyes as he lay there on the bed.  
  
The Jaganshi was starring up at the ceiling with his chickenpox-covered arms behind his head, a forlorn look in his normally unrevealing crimson eyes.  
  
The kitsune set the bowl on his desk and walked over to the bed. "Hiei, is there something wrong?"  
  
"Hn." Hiei muttered, but said nothing else.  
  
Kurama shot a concerned look at his friend, but didn't question further. Instead, the kitsune went into the bathroom, rummaging around for something in the medical cabinet. Finally, he walked back out and over to Hiei, a bubblegum-pink bottle in his hands.  
  
"What's that?" Hiei asked, propping himself up on his elbows.  
  
"Calamine lotion. It'll dull the itching a bit." Kurama replied, opening the bottle and squeezing a bit of lotion into his palm. "Lie down and let me apply it."  
  
Hiei obeyed, and held out his arm to the kitsune, who began rubbing the calamine lotion onto it. Hiei started to blush as he felt Kurama's warm hands spreading the lotion around, mentally asking himself why in the world he was embarrassed by Kurama's touch, but said nothing.  
  
Kurama finished putting the lotion on Hiei's arms, and turned to his friend. "Take off your shirt."  
  
Hiei immediately turned beat red. "No."  
  
"Do you want my help or not?" the kitsune asked, sighing at Hiei's stubbornness.  
  
"I'm not stripping in front of you, Kurama!" Hiei yelled angrily.  
  
Now it was the kitsune's turn to blush. "NANI?!?"  
  
The Jaganshi raised an eyebrow. "You heard me."  
  
"I didn't mean it in that way!" Kurama objected, growling.  
  
There was a moment of silence that ended when Hiei started smirking. "Baka fox."  
  
Kurama then blushed deeper, embarrassed at how easily he had been tricked. However, he decided that he didn't real feel like fighting with the three- eyed youkai anymore. "I brought you some ramen." he said, handing the now slightly-cooler bowl.  
  
"I didn't want anything." Hiei responded, sitting up once he realized that the joke was over.  
  
"I know, but please just eat it." Kurama said, handing the bowl to Hiei who accepted it reluctantly. "I'll be in the living room on the couch if you need me, ok?"  
  
Hiei nodded, already eating the noodles.  
  
"Good night, Hiei." Kurama said, walking out of the room.  
  
"'Night." came Hiei's quiet reply.  
  
=========================================  
  
A/N: Gomen, that was really short! ;-; I had writer's block, so sorry if it was really stupid.  
  
Also, thanks to . . .  
  
Rainy  
  
zennou-sakusha  
  
Yukii  
  
and Katyfoxdemon2  
  
. . . for the reviews! ^_^ You guys-and girls-are so nice, and I'm glad that you like this fic! I do too!  
  
Also, somebody IMed me about what kind of shonen-ai this would be between Hiei and Kurama. (Why they didn't just review beats me, but I'm not them.) Well, as answer to their question, it won't really be a relationship. Mostly just hugging and stuff. oO; I don't know.  
  
Also-also, I have no idea where to go from here. Any ideas?  
  
~Agent Dark Moose 


	4. Fight

Chickenpox  
  
By: Agent Dark Moose  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Summary: When Yusuke and Kuwabara drag Kurama and an unwilling Hiei to the arcade, Hiei catches a terrible disease. That disease is . . . the chickenpox? (oO;)  
  
Disclaimer: I own a platypus plushie! YAY! But nothing that relates to YYH . . . Hey, Moose made a rhyme! Relates an YYH! o.o Ok, I'll shut up now . . .  
  
~Guide~  
  
~+~ Location Change  
  
*** Time change  
  
_. . ._ Emphasized  
  
~*+*~ Time AND Location Change  
  
Chapter Four: Fight  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
From the Top: I'd just like to give special thanks to Baka Gothic Kitsune and RinRin-chan for giving me a great idea for this chapter, even though Hiei doesn't actually get in the bath. I wanted him to, but my mind and ideas just sort of . . . veered off from it. ^^; Without you, this chapter wouldn't have come out this soon!  
  
=========================================  
  
~The Next Day: 10:23 pm~  
  
Kurama walked into his room to check on Hiei, but saw with a surprise that his friend was itching himself madly. The fox immediately dashed over to the bedside.  
  
"Hiei, you know that you're not supposed to itch those!" Kurama yelled.  
  
"But it itches so much!" Hiei practically whined, and Kurama had to resist the urge to laugh out loud.  
  
Kurama thought for a minute while he held Hiei's arms so that he couldn't itch himself. "I got it!"  
  
Hiei blinked. "Got what?"  
  
"When I had the chickenpox when I was six, my kasaan gave me an oatmeal bath! [1]" the kitsune said happily.  
  
One again, Hiei blinked. "What the hell is oatmeal?"  
  
Kurama glared a bit. "You know that I don't like you swearing, Hiei."  
  
Hiei starred at his friend. "You never told me that before."  
  
The red-head shrugged. "I just don't like it, ok?"  
  
The three-eyed youkai nodded. "Ok, I'll stop."  
  
Kurama grinned. "Well, oatmeal is this ningen breakfast food that's incredibly sticky and smelly. It helps the itching go down, though."  
  
Hiei glared at Kurama. "There is no way in I will bathe in some fu-"  
  
Kurama narrowed his eyes slightly, and Hiei quickly caught himself.  
  
". . . foolish ningen food." he finished.  
  
Kurama sighed. He knew this was going to be a lot harder than he thought. "Come on, Hiei, just for a couple minutes."  
  
Hiei shook his head. "No, I know that I'll regret it if I say yes."  
  
The kitsune suddenly had a flashback of how deadly this disease could be for Hiei, and Kurama immediately knew that he had to do everything in his power to heal his friend.  
  
Kurama stood up and looked at Hiei with a determined look in his eyes. "You're going to take an oatmeal bath and that's final." he said, aware that he sounded a lot like his mother did when he had the chickenpox.  
  
Hiei was taken aback a bit. Normally Kurama wouldn't 'boss him around', if you could call it that. "Hn."  
  
Kurama smiled as Hiei got out of the bed. "Do you need me to-?"  
  
Hiei instantly shot a fiery glare at the fox. "I don't know what in the three worlds is going through your mind, Kurama, but under NO circumstances will I let you bathe me!"  
  
Kurama took a step back instinctively. "Gomen, Hiei, I just wanted to help . . ."  
  
"Well you know what, fox? I am SICK of you babying me around! Even though I might die from it, it's just an illness! For the love of Makai, Kurama, just stop!" Hiei yelled.  
  
Now it was Kurama's turn to get angry. "I try and help you and you yell at me?!? What kind of friend are you?!?" he screamed back, instantly regretting what he said.  
  
"Obviously, not one of yours." Hiei muttered, before blurring back to the bed. He grabbed his cloak, and then opened the window. Before he jumped out of it, he gave one last glance at Kurama, whose eyes were watering more by the minute.  
  
"Wait, Hiei, I . . ."  
  
But he was already gone.  
  
A couple minutes of silence passed, ending when Kurama slumped to the ground, his eyes still fixed on the window where Hiei had been a short while ago.  
  
"What have I done . . .?"  
  
~*+*~ [2]  
  
Hiei sighed as he leaned against the trunk of the tree in which he sat. He was extremely angry at himself, and was currently yelling at himself.  
  
'You had no right to do that to Kurama. He's only been watching out for you. Why in hell would you yell at him for doing that?'  
  
'So what, he makes you feel a bit weak on the inside, that's no right to hurt him so badly.'  
  
'He only said that to you because you were yelling at him.'  
  
"And what he said was true . . ." Hiei mumbled to himself out loud. "What kind of friend am I?"  
  
Hiei stood up, his cloak blowing a bit in the breeze. 'I have to go back and . . . apologize to Kurama.'  
  
Immediately after that, Hiei flitted off towards the Minamino residence.  
  
~+~  
  
'Why did you say that to him?!?' Kurama yelled to himself mentally, ignoring the tears that fell from his eyes while he punched a tightly- packed pillow. The fox would be punching the wall, but his kasaan would be extremely angry if he dented it, which was highly a possibility.  
  
'You know how Hiei is; he's got a very high pride, and being babied by you would hurt it!' Another punch landed in the pillow, and Kurama thought he heard the sound of tearing threads.  
  
'He was your friend! How dare you say that to him!' Now Kurama was sure that he heard a tearing noise.  
  
'You make me sick, you idiotic baka with no regards as to the feelings of other people! I can't believe I have to be your conscience, you fu-' The pillow suddenly burst, throwing millions of beautiful white goose feathers around Kurama's room.  
  
The kitsune fell back onto the bed which was recently occupied by Hiei. Kurama curled up into a ball, pulling the covers over him, and promptly cried himself to sleep.  
  
=========================================  
  
A/N: Sorry that there was a lot of angst-type stuff in this chapter. And it was really bad, too. o.o;  
  
[1] = I know that this sentence makes Kurama sound like he's a little kid again. XD  
  
[2] = I had half a mind to end the chapter here, you know. But I'm kind, so I continued on. ^^;  
  
~Agent Dark Moose 


	5. Dying

Chickenpox  
  
By: Agent Dark Moose  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Summary: When Yusuke and Kuwabara drag Kurama and an unwilling Hiei to the arcade, Hiei catches a terrible disease. That disease is . . . the chickenpox? (oO;)  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own YYH . . . ::long period of crying::  
  
~Guide~  
  
~+~ Location Change  
  
*** Time change  
  
_. . ._ Emphasized  
  
~*+*~ Time AND Location Change  
  
Chapter Five: Dying  
  
=========================================  
  
~The Next Day - 6:04 am~  
  
Hiei arrived back at Kurama's house early the next morning. He would have gotten there sooner, but he had suddenly felt very tired, so the short youkai had rested before heading back to the Minamino residence.  
  
Hiei landed in the tree outside the kitsune's room, noticing that the window was still open. Shrugging that off, Hiei jumped into the house, immediately spotting Kurama.  
  
The fox was curled up in the bed, the covers wrapped around him. Hiei saw that goose feathers covered the room, and that the pillow was missing.  
  
Hiei walked over to the bed and studied Kurama as he slept. 'He looks very cute when he's asleep . . . Wait, what in Makai am I thinking THAT for?!'  
  
Hiei was interrupted from his shocked thoughts as he saw something glistening on Kurama's cheek. He looked closer, and saw that it was a tear.  
  
The pyro youkai took a surprised step back.  
  
"Kurama was crying . . . over . . . me . . .?" he said out loud, but suddenly he felt a wave of pain wash over him. Hiei doubled up in agony, and before he blacked out he saw a pair of worried emerald eyes.  
  
"Kitsune . . ."  
  
~+~  
  
Kurama woke up instantly when he heard Hiei's cry of pain. The fox lept out of the bed just in time to see Hiei sink to the floor, clutching his body as if it was going to fall apart.  
  
The red-headed youkai ran over to his friend, and grabbed him by the shoulders. Hiei looked up at Kurama, his crimson eyes wide in pain.  
  
"Kitsune . . ."  
  
The short youkai fainted, and his unconscious body fell against Kurama, who held onto him, fear clearly in his eyes.  
  
Kurama suddenly felt Hiei's spirit energy decrease dramatically, which only fueled Kurama's theory from two days ago.  
  
"Hiei's . . . dying."  
  
***  
  
An hour later, Hiei was back in the bed, every now and then groaning as another wave of pain swept through his body. His temperature was well over 108, and sweat was pouring down his face.  
  
Kurama was, of course, always by his side. He only left to get something to eat and to use the bathroom. Other than that, the fox was always there, praying to himself that he wouldn't loose his closest friend.  
  
A little while later, the doorbell rang. Kurama got up slowly and went downstairs, hoping that it wasn't his kasaan. If it was, he'd have to go through a long explanation of why an extremely sick friend of his was in their house, and not at his own.  
  
To Kurama's relief, it was only Yusuke and Kuwabara.  
  
"Ohayo, Kurama." the two said in unison.  
  
"Likewise." Kurama muttered.  
  
"Kurama, we thought we felt Hiei's energy go down drastically. Is there something wrong with him?" Yusuke asked, a pinch of worry in his voice.  
  
The kitsune nodded. "He's got the chickenpox."  
  
Kuwabara burst out laughing, but shut up when Kurama gave him a death glare very similar to Hiei's.  
  
"But it's much worse then just the common disease. Because youkai aren't supposed to catch the chickenpox, they aren't as immune to it as humans." Kurama continued.  
  
Yusuke gasped quietly to himself. "What are you saying, Kurama?"  
  
The fox turned away and started to walk back upstairs. "Come and see for yourself." Kuwabara and Yusuke glanced at each other before following Kurama back into his room.  
  
When they reached the said room, the two humans gasped loudly when they saw Hiei.  
  
"Now do you see what's happening?" Kurama said softly as he sat down next to the three-eyed youkai. "He's dying, Yusuke. We're loosing him."  
  
=========================================  
  
A/N: Ack, bad chapter . . . again. ;-; I'm not too good at angst . . .  
  
Also, if anyone was wondering why Kurama hasn't caught the chickenpox from Hiei, it's because he's already had them, making him immune to it. ::nods::  
  
~Agent Dark Moose 


	6. The Nauso Flower

Chickenpox  
  
By: Agent Dark Moose  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Summary: When Yusuke and Kuwabara drag Kurama and an unwilling Hiei to the arcade, Hiei catches a terrible disease. That disease is . . . the chickenpox? (oO;)  
  
Disclaimer: YYH does not belong to me, ok? Get off my back! (However, I do own the Nauso Flower.)  
  
~Guide~  
  
~+~ Location Change  
  
*** Time change  
  
_. . ._ Emphasized  
  
~*+*~ Time AND Location Change  
  
Chapter Six: The Nauso Flower  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
From the Top: One again, I have to say thank you to Baka Gothic Kitsune for pointing out my idiotic spelling error in Chapter 5. I was spelling 'losing' with two o's. Stupid spell/grammar check; I'll have to repost that chapter. X_X; Jeez, BGK, I have no idea what I'd do without you! You're my hero! ^^;  
  
=========================================  
  
"He's dying, Yusuke. We're losing him."  
  
A deep silence fell in the room. Kuwabara made a kind of choking noise while Yusuke just starred at Hiei's motionless body.  
  
"You're lying." the raven-haired Spirit Detective whispered, breaking the silence.  
  
"Does it look like I am, Yusuke?! Look at him! He clearly does not just have some ningen disease! Hiei's temperature is close to 110! Think about it!" Kurama yelled after a slight pause. He felt his eyes water, but he fought back the tears.  
  
After another pause, Kuwabara spoke up as he wiped his eyes with his arm. "I know that we don't get along very well, but life would become very dull for me if the shrimp kicked the bucket."  
  
Yusuke looked at his two depressed friends. "Guys, Hiei's not dead yet! There might be a way to save him!"  
  
"How do you suppose we do that, Yusuke?! Youkai aren't-" Kurama started to shout, but Yusuke cut him off.  
  
"Yeah, yeah, youkai aren't supposed to get the chickenpox. But that doesn't mean that there isn't a cure for it somewhere in Makai!" Yusuke said. "Kurama, you're the expert on demon plants. Think; is there any kind of plant that would save someone from death or a severe disease?"  
  
The kitsune fell silent as he thought about it. "There is, but it's very rare and valuable, and if any demon had it, they would defend it with their lives."  
  
"What's the name of it?" Kuwabara asked.  
  
"The Nauso Flower. [1]" Kurama replied.  
  
Yusuke turned to leave. "Then it's settled. We'll have to go to Makai and find that plant before Hiei dies."  
  
The fox shook his head. "I'm not leaving him."  
  
Yusuke nodded in understanding. "That's fine, Kurama. Kuwabara and I will just stop by the Spirit World to grab a book about the plants of Makai."  
  
"Are you sure that you'll know how to read it?" Kurama taunted, grinning.  
  
"Very funny." Yusuke said, and the two humans walked out of the room and left the house.  
  
***  
  
Later that night, Kurama was sitting next to Hiei on the bed, his legs propped up in the chair he usually sat in. Every forty-five minutes he would check Hiei's temperature, only to find that it had increased since the last time he took it.  
  
Kurama was shaken from his thoughts when he heard a hacking sound. The fox looked over at his friend to see that Hiei was coughing up large amounts of blood. Kurama gasped, and grabbed Hiei. He pulled his friend over to himself, propping the shorter youkai against himself.  
  
"Please, Kami, help him stop . . ." Kurama prayed out loud, hoping with every ounce of his soul that it would work as he hugged Hiei's warm body.  
  
Remarkably, it did, because Hiei stopped a minute later. He looked up and saw Kurama's watery green eyes starring back at him.  
  
"Kurama?" Hiei asked in a croaky voice.  
  
"Hai, Hiei?" Kurama responded quietly.  
  
Hiei looked away. "Gomen nasai."  
  
"For what?" the fox asked.  
  
"For yelling at you like that. You were just trying to help." the three- eyed youkai replied.  
  
"It's alright. It was both of our faults. I'm sorry, too." Kurama whispered, smiling.  
  
Hiei looked back up at his friend. "Thank you, Kurama."  
  
A moment of silence passed between the two as they smiled at each other. Kurama finally broke it.  
  
"Promise me one thing Hiei . . . Don't leave me."  
  
Hiei's grin slowly faded. "I can't promise anything right now, fox. Sorry, again."  
  
"I understand." Kurama replied.  
  
And the two slowly fell asleep like that, with Kurama propped up against the wall and Hiei in his arms. [2]  
  
~+~  
  
~Spirit World~  
  
"Thanks, pacifier breath." Yusuke told the demigod as he handed him the book.  
  
Koenma frowned. "Just make sure that you don't get killed in the process, Yusuke."  
  
Yusuke grinned. "Have I ever done that before?"  
  
Koenma fell out of his chair.  
  
***  
  
Yusuke and Kuwabara landed in a small dog pile after they were thrown out of the portal that Koenma had opened. Like usual, Kuwabara was on the bottom.  
  
"You know, I'm really getting tired of the taste of dirt and grass." Kuwabara muttered as he dusted himself off.  
  
Yusuke grinned. "Ok, now to find that Nauso Flower!"  
  
"Koenma said that it would be somewhere in this area, right?" Kuwabara asked.  
  
"Yep. Well, at least this was the most recent area in which one was to be found." Yusuke replied.  
  
Kuwabara starred at his raven-haired friend. "Yusuke, you sounded like Kurama when you said that!"  
  
Yusuke looked shocked. "I'm getting smart!"  
  
The two friends shared a laugh, but stopped when they heard a sound from a clearing that was just ahead of them.  
  
"What do you think it is?" Kuwabara asked.  
  
"Um . . . maybe a youkai?" Yusuke said sarcastically, and Kuwabara frowned.  
  
The two silently walked over to the edge of the clearing, and saw a wolf youkai standing in the middle of it. There was something shining in his hand.  
  
"I've finally found one . . . a Nauso Flower . . ." the demon was saying.  
  
'Piece of cake.' Yusuke thought, and he readied his Spirit Gun. 'It won't take very much energy to kill him.'  
  
Kuwabara saw what his best friend was doing, so he didn't take out his Spirit Sword.  
  
Apparently, the wolf youkai was even stupider than Kuwabara, seeing as he didn't even notice the energy as Yusuke prepared to fire. When he did see Yusuke, it was too late.  
  
The wolf dropped the flower in surprise, assuring Yusuke that the blast wouldn't destroy the flower also.  
  
"SPIRIT GUN!" he cried, and the energy he had been charging up was released from his finger. It flew towards the youkai, and made a direct hit, dissolving its target.  
  
Yusuke ran into the clearing and picked up the flower carefully. "I hope this will save Hiei . . ."  
  
Kuwabara ran up next to him. "I'm sure it will, Yusuke."  
  
Yusuke and Kuwabara went back to the portal, the former still not reassured.  
  
=========================================  
  
A/N: Wow, wasn't that confusing and downright horrible? ^^; Please, don't blame me. I had to rush this chapter because it's my brother's birthday party today, (January 4), and my relatives have already started to arrive. o.o; Gomen!  
  
[1] = The word 'nauso' means 'to restore to health' in Japanese, so the title fits.  
  
[2] = No, nothing happened between them, you sick perverts who had that thought in their mind! I don't right yaoi - only shonen-ai. Check my bio for more on this topic. (I also despise lemons and limes. uu;)  
  
Happy New Year, faithful readers! ^^  
  
~Agent Dark Moose 


	7. Reflective Moment

Chickenpox  
  
By: Agent Dark Moose  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Summary: When Yusuke and Kuwabara drag Kurama and an unwilling Hiei to the arcade, Hiei catches a terrible disease. That disease is . . . the chickenpox? (oO;)  
  
Disclaimer: I fear that I will never own Yu Yu Hakusho . . . But I know that I own the Nauso Flower! ^_^ Nor do I own this fluffy moment; go Fox and Insane! (I think. Did I get your names right?) You rock!  
  
~Guide~  
  
~+~ Location Change  
  
*** Time change  
  
_. . ._ Emphasized  
  
~*+*~ Time AND Location Change  
  
Chapter Seven: Reflective Moment  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
*From the Top*  
  
NOTE TO READERS  
  
Alright, this isn't really what I'd call a chapter. It's more like just a little fluffy moment between Hiei and Kurama. Its angsty and a tear-jerker, that's for sure. When I read the email from Fox, I was sobbing by the end of it! ;-;  
  
REVIEW RESPONSES TO 'dude' and Baka Gothic Kitsune:  
  
Actually, yaoi and shonen-ai are different. Yaoi is more into sexual stuff, while shonen-ai is just fluffy romance. True, they are both male/male pairings, but it's just the intensity that I don't like in yaoi stories. Shonen-ai stories have slight stuff; more PG-13-ish, while yaoi would be more R.  
  
Shout-Out to Blue Ice Fox and the Insane!!  
  
Readers, I'm not the one who quenched my writer's block. My newest friends the Insane and Blue Ice Fox did by sending me the perfect fluffy bit for this chapter! I just tweaked a few things, but the REAL author isn't me. Got it? Good! Now go thank them for being an awesome writer! They've got talent! I don't think I could have done this better than them!  
  
====================================================  
  
Kurama blinked as the morning sunlight swept through the window, revealing the dust particles dancing through the crisp winter air that had filled his room through the slightly opened window. His mind was still hazed with sleep as he struggled to remember what had been going on.  
  
He attempted to stretch, but found the weight of Hiei in his arms. The kitsune had fallen asleep with the youkai, Hiei still holding onto him as if his heart would stop the moment he let go. Kurama let his head fall back against the headboard of the bed.  
  
'When did Hiei become so important to me?' Kurama thought as he felt his cheeks being slowly caressed by warm tears. Damn it! He felt so useless! All he could do was sit here and wait!  
  
What if Hiei died like this, right here in his arms, and there was nothing he could do about it? What would he do if Hiei was gone? Knowing he wouldn't be there at his window when the rain was merciless or be in the trees in unexplained companionship wherever he walked, how would he live if Hiei, his friend, the only person who understood his past, the only one who listened to him on lonely nights when he simply wanted to talk, the only one who knew him from the inside out, was gone?  
  
He wouldn't be sane. Kurama would be trapped in his stupid ningen act until the day this body was dead, and then his human side would be forgotten. Only Hiei knew both so well. Only Hiei could keep them in balance. A choked sob hitched Kurama's breath.  
  
"I need you Hiei . . ." he whispered hoarsely to the unconscious youkai. "You can't leave me . . . not now . . ."  
  
How could this stupid disease have struck so hard? Hiei was not supposed to die like this. He didn't deserve this. Hiei was supposed to die in fierce combat, and he was certainly not supposed to die until Kurama himself was gone. How could this damned bastard have done this to him! Coming into his life so quickly and uninvited, making himself known, cared for, and even . . . loved . . . AND THEN JUST LEAVING AS QUICKLY AS HE CAME?!  
  
No, this wasn't right! It wasn't fair! When did he start caring so damn much!? Where was the unforgiving, uncaring Youko when Kurama needed him, or was he being played like this to? Another hitching sob resounded off the walls, and the kitsune drew Hiei closer to him. But he wanted this; he wanted to feel this love, but not now! Not when Hiei's dead and gone!  
  
"Hiei, if you die, I swear I-I'll never forgive you!" he cried between sobs.  
  
Hiei moaned suddenly and turned in Kurama's arms. His face was twisted in pain and struggle. He was trying, trying so hard to live. He wanted to come back; he didn't want to leave them, any of his friends. He would miss that Yusuke's idiotic jokes, grinning like an imbecile. He would miss Koenma, but . . . Hiei would see him anyhow. God, he would even miss the baka! He would miss them all, but he would miss that stupid fox most of all.  
  
What the hell had the kitsune done to him to make him feel so much?! But . . . it wasn't in a bad way . . .  
  
He struggled to open his eyes. Kurama, was he . . . was he crying? Again? Over him?  
  
Hiei reached up weakly catching the fox's attention. Kurama blinked away tears as Hiei wiped his cheek. The red haired demon turned his face into the warm hand, closing his eyes.  
  
"Please, please don't leave me... Y-you don't even know-" His voice caught in his throat as his body shook with sobs.  
  
"I . . . promise . . ." Hiei's voice was soft and distant, "I-I'll . . . try . . ." His hand fell as he slipped back into his unconscious state.  
  
Kurama leaned his lips to the demon's feverish forehead, leaving a cool kiss. "That's all I can ask . . ." he murmured against the burning skin. "All I can ask . . ."  
  
====================================================  
  
A/N: See? You're crying, ne? I told you it was sad! I TOLD YOU! ::sobs::  
  
Ok, I want to all to review, but then you've gotta email the two of 'em and tell them what a great chapter this is! Email her at spiritfoxk @ yahoo . com. (Remove the spaces first, though. ^_~)  
  
Ja ne! ::goes to get a Kleenex::  
  
~Agent Dark Moose 


	8. False

Chickenpox  
  
By: Agent Dark Moose  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Summary: When Yusuke and Kuwabara drag Kurama and an unwilling Hiei to the arcade, Hiei catches a terrible disease. That disease is . . . the chickenpox? (oO;)  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own YYH. I wish I owned Kurama, but I don't.  
  
~Guide~  
  
~+~ Location Change  
  
*** Time change  
  
_. . ._ Emphasized  
  
~*+*~ Time AND Location Change  
  
Chapter Eight: False  
  
====================================================  
  
~From the Top~  
  
Special thanks again to Blue Ice Fox!!! You're the best!!! ^o^  
  
====================================================  
  
Yusuke and Kuwabara approached the portal to the Spirit World, the flower clasped softly in Yusuke's hand. He glanced around nervously for any sign of danger but nothing came. Something didn't feel right . . .  
  
The black-haired Spirit Detective shrugged it off and stepped through the portal landing with a 'thud' outside Koenma's office. He glanced through the door that had unusually been left ajar. Botan was standing in front of Koenma's desk. Her face looked pained as if she was going through an inner turmoil and Yusuke thought he heard the name Hiei muttered among their whispers.  
  
Kuwabara landed behind him coming through the portal. "Let's go, Urameshi!" He urged. Yusuke complied, giving up on trying to hear the secretive conversation. He opened the door fully, making his presence known, and moved into the office smirking.  
  
"Yusuke!" The demi-god exclaimed, surprised at the Detective's appearance, "You found the flower so quickly?"  
  
Yusuke laughed at the toddler's bewilderment and held the flower out to him. It was silky to the touch and white as snow with a peach glint to the base. Black and dark cherry lines freckled the petals that curved into a teardrop shape with the tips flowing back at the top. The demi-god studied it for a moment turning it over, running his fingers over the delicate petals.  
  
"Hmmm, I'm sorry to disappoint you Yusuke . . ." he said sadly, and looked up at the youth. "But this isn't a real Nauso Flower . . ."  
  
"What!?" Yusuke jumped back startled. How could it not be real? He had felt it, and he could see it! "Then what is it?"  
  
"This is a mirror image of a Nauso flower, a demon's recreation." Koenma waved his hand through the delicate petals and the flower disappeared in a wisp of red light. "But this is fortunate, in a sense."  
  
"How the hell can this be fortunate?!" Yusuke hollered, feeling anger rise within him. "Hiei's gonna die! How the hell can you find that fortunate you conceited little monster!?"  
  
Koenma looked up at him; his hazel eyes clouded with sadness and had slight rings around them as if he hadn't slept in a while. Yusuke felt guilt gnaw at him and he bit his lip, wishing to take the words back.  
  
"Yusuke, I cannot control what will happen to Hiei, but you have to listen to me if you want him to live . . ." His voice was soft and helpless. It was so unlike the toddler to express such sorrow in place of his usual official demeanor. He cleared his throat as if embarrassed by his emotion. "Now, as I was saying, there is good news. In order to make the mirror image, the demon that set this trap would have to have a true one. I will re-open a portal to the Makai for you. Though this one will not last as long, seeing as I made one only a day ago and I spent a lot of energy in creating it. You should have about three days. I'll leave you in the same place as last." his eyes clouded once more "Yusuke, we're counting on you."  
  
Yusuke nodded determinedly. He wouldn't let this go wrong.  
  
"Ok then." Koenma said hopping out of his chair. I opened the portal about... here." He paced over a few tiles and then turned to the right. "Now, once you enter the Makai, you will have to seek out the demon that set the trap. He will most likely return to the same spot where you found the fake flower, as it seems its plan did not go as planned." He sliced his hand through the air opening the glowing portal. "Be back in three days or you will be trapped. I wouldn't normally take this risk but the need is dire. Now go, quickly!"  
  
Yusuke nodded again and looked to Kuwabara who had been strangely quiet through the brief exchange. He was starring at his clenched fists, almost shaking with rage. How could this be happening! They had the flower there! How much time had they wasted on this wild goose chase?! He wasn't always so easy on the small youkai, but if Hiei was gone, Kuwabara would miss him a lot.  
  
"Alright, let's go!" Kuwabara punched his fist into the air dramatically. Yusuke would of normally laughed at the stupid outburst but let it pass with an exasperated sigh and a roll of his eyes.  
  
"Good luck, Yusuke." Koenma said officially before Yusuke stepped through the portal, Kuwabara scrambling behind.  
  
~*+*~  
  
Yusuke stepped through the underbrush, searching for the spot where they had seen the wolf youkai. Kuwabara followed cautiously. He could feel the presence of a strong demon but couldn't pinpoint its location. It was as if the demon were inside his head, but that was stupid. How could a demon be inside his head? Kuwabara decided it was nerves and forgot about it.  
  
Yusuke held out a hand, stopping Kuwabara, and parted a clump of leaves in front of them to see a demon crouched in the clearing checking its trap. It was pail white with black hair that fell to the small of his back. He wore white silken pants, a black leather cap and a dark leather trench coat that reached down to mid-thigh, left open to reveal finely-chiseled muscles.  
  
Yusuke glared at it trying to decipher what kind of youkai it was. There were no defining marks to its species or origin. It was dangerous to enter a battle not knowing what your enemy was capable of, but they didn't have much time for that now.  
  
Yusuke was about to step out of the underbrush when he saw something gleaming in the sun from its position under a tree. It was meant to snap on your opponents legs, leaving them as an easy target, but not dead. A trap meant for games of cruelty. A snare.  
  
The Spirit Detective scanned the clearing to find hundreds of glinting snares scattered across the clearing, prepared to lunge out at those careless enough to wander into the clearing. He growled in frustration.  
  
'Fine, if I can't get him up close, I'll just have to do it from here.' Yusuke clasped his right hand onto his left wrist and extended his left index finger, forming the shape of a gun. He took aim and smirked. "Spirit Gun!"  
  
The demon turned from his spot, seconds before a blinding blue light filled the clearing. The light slowly diminished leaving Yusuke to scan the area, hoping he hadn't destroyed the demon completely; they still needed the real flower. He walked cautiously into the open finding his Rei Gun had caused the traps to go off.  
  
"Hey! Where is he Urameshi?!" Kuwabara yelled stepping out after him. A maniacal laughter filled the clearing.  
  
"It's not very nice to attack when your opponents not looking." The voice was cold and sleek. The youkai let a pair of snake knives fall out of his coat sleeves, catching them gracefully. "No matter, I'm not very nice myself."  
  
He smirked at the two humans from his perch in the branches above. Yusuke caught sight of him and swore under his breath. He had underestimated him. The demons sickening yellow eyes met his chocolate ones for a second.  
  
Yusuke shuddered. He felt like something had looked into him, violated the sanctity of his mind. He shook his head and brought his hands into position again and Kuwabara drew his Spirit Sword.  
  
"We're looking for the Nauso flower," Yusuke spoke to the demon. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way." His mouth turned up to a smirk. "I think I'd enjoy the hard."  
  
"So would I." The demon's voice held a bit of humor.  
  
"SPIRIT GUN!" The demon dodged the blast but he heard a faint scream coming from his opponent. It was oddly familiar. And then he saw . . . her.  
  
"KEIKO!" Yusuke screamed, eyes widening in confusion. The demon held Keiko against him, pressing a blade to her neck, causing a trickle of blood to drip down the girl's skin.  
  
"Yusuke! What's going on?! Help me!" she screeched to him.  
  
Yusuke just starred in utter horror, questions swirling around his mind. 'How did that monster get Keiko?! He couldn't have! Otherwise, Koenma would have told us about a demon escaping into the Human World!'  
  
The youkai jumped from its perch and slashed at Yusuke. He dodged back and forth without attacking. He stumbled and the demon lashed out, striking him against the face.  
  
"What the hell are you doing, Urameshi?!" Kuwabara yelled. He came up behind the demon charging. He lifted his sword above its head.  
  
"NO!" Yusuke yelled, getting up and pushing Kuwabara away from their enemy. He fell to the ground hard. He had to think! Something only Keiko would do! Something she would do despite anything . . . During any situation . . .  
  
"Keiko! Are your panties blue or pink today?!" He hollered, throwing in a perverted grin.  
  
However, Keiko didn't respond but continued her screeching. Yusuke smirked, and appeared behind the demon in a burst of speed.  
  
"Go to Hell!" He made his hands into a pistol position "SPIRIT GUN!!" A wave of blue energy flared around the demon. The fake Keiko disappeared in a wisp of red light like the flower had. The light faded and the demon lay unconscious on the ground.  
  
***  
  
Yusuke bound the demon before trying to wake it. He brutally kicked it in the side. He wasn't about to show mercy to that which would use someone's mind so sickeningly. The demon moaned in pain and rolled to his side.  
  
"Wake up!" Kuwabara yelled dragging the demon up by the collar of its coat. The demon moaned again and blinked. His eyes widened and it screamed through the gag over its mouth.  
  
"Shut up!" Kuwabara yelled throwing him back to the ground. "Now you are going to tell us where the flower is, got that?" he ripped the gag from the mouth of the demon who had stopped screaming and taken to glaring at them. He spat at the carrot-top, cursing.  
  
"You think I am such a fool to tell you so easily? You would not kill me until you have it and I want something in return for my prize." he smirked. "Not that you have anything that would sway me."  
  
Yusuke placed his finger to the back of the demons head. "Maybe we do need you alive." he said casually, "But a trip to the Spirit World prison might change your mind." The demons eyes widened at the bluff but calmed quickly.  
  
"On what charges would you have me for? I have done nothing wrong but protect what is mine." Yusuke glared at the demon before searching through the dead leaves.  
  
He picked up one of metal traps pushing it in front of the demon. "I don't think these are legal. How 'bout you Kuwabara?" Yusuke said as if to himself. Kuwabara nodded.  
  
"I think that would be considered a convictable offence." Yusuke smirked as the demon's face fell. He hadn't thought the Detectives had seen the hidden traps. He cursed under his breath and gave a look of defeat.  
  
"Fine." he growled, looking at the ground pathetically.  
  
Yusuke grinned at their captive. "Alright, where's the Nauso Flower?"  
  
The youkai sighed. "In my lair."  
  
"And where's that?" Kuwabara asked.  
  
"In a cave."  
  
Yusuke growled. "Care to elaborate?"  
  
"It's in Makai."  
  
Kuwabara let out a yell of rage before kicking the demon across the ground, Spirit Energy glowing around his foot. "STOP BEING SUCH A SMART A-"  
  
"The cave is about a mile from here. North." the youkai replied, sitting up groggily.  
  
Yusuke and Kuwabara grinned at each other before turning around and dashing out of the clearing towards the youkai's lair.  
  
"You could at least untie me first, baka ningen!" the demon yelled at their retreating backs, causing the two Spirit Detectives to smirk happily as they raced toward the cave . . . and Hiei's last chance to live.  
  
====================================================  
  
A/N: Gomen for the wait. I still got writer's block, no matter how much Fox did to help me . . . ;-; I'll get the next chapter up ASAP!  
  
~Agent Dark Moose 


	9. Death Walking

Chickenpox  
  
By: Agent Dark Moose  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Summary: When Yusuke and Kuwabara drag Kurama and an unwilling Hiei to the arcade, Hiei catches a terrible disease. That disease is . . . the chickenpox? (oO;)  
  
Disclaimer: Blue Ice Fox thought of this dream idea. Kami, I wish I was as smart as her . . . T_T I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho, either . . .  
  
~Guide~  
  
~+~ Location Change  
  
*** Time change  
  
_. . ._ Emphasized  
  
~*+*~ Time AND Location Change  
  
*~_-_~* Rapid Switch in Place (In this chapter it's between Hiei and Kurama, a.k.a. Dream World and Reality. It's almost like POV changes, but it's not . . . o_o)  
  
^*~*^ Flashback Start/End  
  
Chapter Nine: Death Walking  
  
====================================================  
  
~From the Top~  
  
I'll repeat it over and over again if I have to . . . THANK YOU SO MUCH FOX!!!  
  
Also, in this chapter, Hiei's having a DREAM. Alright? ^^;  
  
====================================================  
  
He opened his eyes to see black. Everything was black. He was in an abyss of darkness that never ended. It tried to suffocate him. To press in on him; dwindling into compliance. Working at his death.  
  
He was about to close his eyes again when he saw something moving far away. Or what seemed to be a blurred distance to him.  
  
It was darker than the void, holding no sheen to it like a gash of deep shadow. It was a pool of nothingness. It was soon joined by more pools, as if multiplied in his gaze. They appeared to be approaching him. Slowly at first, but then their pace was quickened. The shadows came towards him, increasing their rate of speed until they were rushing at him with full- blown force.  
  
He wanted to run, but he couldn't. He couldn't move. He was paralyzed, not able to retaliate as the shadows through themselves at him, pushing him to the blackened and unseen ground.  
  
He let out a sharp yelp of pain as an edge of a shadow came in contact with the bare flesh of his arm. The pain seared through his limb and continued through his body, tearing at each nerve. It felt like liquid fire. Like someone was pouring a vat of acid onto him with no mercy. The pain was engulfing him, and with his body still not responding as he willed it to move, the only thing he could do was whimper and yelp. He didn't care if he was displaying signs of weakness. The only thing that mattered was escaping these creatures with his life. He didn't care if someone saw him. He just had to fight . . . He just had to live . . .  
  
^*~*^  
  
"I . . . promise . . . I-I'll . . . try . . ." Kurama's tears. Blurs of white pain. Cool lips against his skin. A plea. Not enough strength. Fighting. Trying.  
  
^*~*^  
  
Kurama. He must fight for Kurama.  
  
*~_-_~*  
  
Kurama woke up to a sheer cry of distress from Hiei who was lying next to him. The kitsune's eyes widened in fear as he saw his loved one moan and wail, his face contorted in anguish.  
  
"Hiei!" Kurama exclaimed, beginning to panic as he realized that he could almost feel the heat rising up from the half-Koorime's unconscious body.  
  
*~_-_~*  
  
He had finally regained control of his body, but that was of no value anymore. The shadow consumed him in its thick liquid, making his movements lagging and painful. It was as if he was programmed to move in slow-motion, while the shadows where permanently on fast-forward.  
  
An arm of the living blackness instantaneously washed over his face, filling his mouth and nostrils, cutting off his air. He clawed at it, but his fingers only fell through its liquid form to gash his own face, causing crimson to mix with the ink black creature as if it fed off his suffering. He flailed madly, yelling as best he could. He attempted to scream, scream so that someone could hear him and come to his aid. He tried to fight them off and get oxygen, but he could only retrieve small gasps through the thick coating.  
  
He was suddenly overwhelmed in terror and fear, sweat forming on his body and trickling down towards the source of gravity. His lungs burned, begging for air to keep his body alive with.  
  
But he had nothing to give them. His heart was beating above normal. Above his ability to control it. Above the line. Above the red bar. It was using up all the oxygen he had, causing him to hack and cough into the shadow that smothered him. He tried biting it, but that only ended in the shadows pressing down more violently.  
  
He felt his eyelids droop, though he still continued to fight. He tried every manner of getting the things off of his body, ignoring the pain that coming in contact with them caused.  
  
He had to get air . . .  
  
*~_-_~*  
  
'There's got to be something I can do! Anything!' Kurama thought frantically, scanning his memory for anything that might help. He quickly dashed into the adjacent bathroom and filled a cup with water, running back to the bedside to see Hiei thrashing about wildly, gasping for air but seemingly getting none.  
  
The kitsune gasped and quickly grabbed Hiei's wrist, pouring the water over him as he was held still for a short second. But as soon as the water hit his skin, Hiei yelled and jerked away from Kurama harshly.  
  
Kurama dropped the cup, watching his best friend with watery and horrified eyes. 'He's dying . . .'  
  
*~_-_~*  
  
His eyes widened as he saw another wave of shadow coming towards his already-consumed body. He tried to scream again, but it was futile. The shadows crashed down upon him, causing antagonizing pain to flood through his body, as if the skin was the broken dam and the agony was the water.  
  
Suddenly, as though a miracle had happened, a wisp of shadow retreated and fell into a curl of disappearing light. Yet before more than two breaths the shadow had mended, filling into his mouth.  
  
He hacked and bucked as the foul substance entered his mouth. It was disgusting, it soiled his mouth. He felt blood rush up his throat and out, dripping down the side of the corner, feeding the shadow. It dove deeper to find the source of its nutrition and energy.  
  
*~_-_~*  
  
Kurama gasped as garnet liquid dripped from Hiei's mouth when he coughed again. The Jaganshi's body shuddered involuntarily before he went back to thrashing around, leaving Kurama to panic by himself.  
  
'There's got to be something I can do to save him . . .' the kitsune felt the tears fall, creating news trails over his already-stained cheeks. 'I've got to do something . . .'  
  
Hiei started to faintly yell, and Kurama felt his heart wrench. He let out a quiet sob before trying the only thing he could think of doing.  
  
The kitsune lept onto the bed, wrapping his arms around Hiei's panicked body. He tilted the fire youkai's head so that it faced his, before swallowing a last flow of tears. Kurama swept down, catching Hiei's lips in his own, feeding his Life Energy into the half-Koorime. He secretly savored the taste of the fiery lips, but didn't think too much on the matter at that moment. All that mattered was Hiei . . .  
  
The kitsune stayed like that for a few minutes, feeling his strength drain from him until it was close to nothing. He hesitantly pulled away, breaking the connection, before collapsing next to Hiei, who had stopped moving.  
  
'Please don't say I was too late . . .' Kurama thought before falling into unconsciousness.  
  
*~_-_~*  
  
He let his arms drop from exhaustion. He was too tired, he needed to rest. He couldn't go on like this. He would never be able to win this battle in a condition like his.  
  
He slowly began to succumb to the shadows, feeling their liquid bodies stir in excitement that their captive was forfeiting. It began to enter into his body, diving deeper, past his lungs towards more sensitive organs.  
  
He couldn't keep up the struggle, and slowly . . . he began to let himself fade . . .  
  
But then . . . he felt something warm brush against his lips before pressing down more forcefully. The area was filled with a blinding light that forced his eyes shut, though he felt the light forcing the shadows away, driving them back. His lungs filled with luscious air, the scorching heat evaporating from his body and only leaving a dull headache.  
  
Just before he fell into a deaf state, he opened his eyes. With the light retreating, he could make out Kurama's form, etched in white. As the dark world collapsed, so did the kitsune, his original color returning. Tears silently fell down Kurama's cheeks. He shook his head.  
  
"Only in a dream . . ." He muttered to himself . . . "Only in a dream . . ."  
  
====================================================  
  
A/N: O_O Wow, I really enjoyed writing this! ::checks the clock:: 10:06 pm on February 19! My God, people, you better thank Fox and me for staying up so late and going over this chapter again and again in email... ::snores:: You people so owe us . . .  
  
So, why don't you review? ^_^;;;  
  
~Agent Dark Moose 


	10. Nauso Trap

Chickenpox  
  
By: Agent Dark Moose  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Summary: When Yusuke and Kuwabara drag Kurama and an unwilling Hiei to the arcade, Hiei catches a terrible disease. That disease is . . . the chickenpox? (oO;)  
  
Disclaimer: I fear that I will never own Yu Yu Hakusho . . . But I know that I own the Nauso Flower! ^_^  
  
~Guide~  
  
~+~ Location Change  
  
*** Time change  
  
_. . ._ Emphasized  
  
~*+*~ Time AND Location Change  
  
Chapter Ten: Nauso Trap  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
*From the Top*  
  
TODAY'S MY BIRTHDAY!!! MARCH 12!!!! I FEEL SO SPECIAL!!! ^___________^!!! As a gift for you all, I'm updating! (Even though this chapter is Bad. Bad with a capital B. And that includes the title of the chapter, too.)  
  
Alright, before you start begging me, just note that THIS WILL NOT BE A LEMON/LIME/CITRUS/WHATEVER-THE-HECK-YOU-WANNA-CALL-IT!!! Look at the rating; it's PG-13. Under no circumstances am I going to R, and I'm NEVER going to write about sex or anything like that . . . Just go somewhere else if you want that . . . ::twitches::  
  
====================================================  
  
Yusuke and Kuwabara stood at the mouth of the cave, scanning it for any kind of traps. Once they were sure that it was safe, the two Spirit Detectives entered.  
  
"This place gives me the creeps . . ." Kuwabara muttered, shivering a bit as they passed the scattered bones of a demon.  
  
"Quit being such a baby." Yusuke replied, brushing a spider web out of the way.  
  
Kuwabara blushed, but stopped whining.  
  
The two continued through the shadowy and maze-like tunnel, every now and then stumbling over skeletons, walking straight into webs, and crashing into unseen walls. (Kuwabara doing the majority of the latter.)  
  
After wandering around for a while, Yusuke smirked. "Seems like that demon's been too busy outside to worry about setting up traps in here."  
  
Kuwabara grinned. "What a slacker."  
  
Yusuke laughed quietly, but then frowned. "It's odd, though. That guy seemed like someone who would worry about his home . . . if you could call this place that. I've just got a really bad feeling about this place . . . like there's something wrong here."  
  
The two of them stopped walking and glanced at each other, worry showing in their eyes.  
  
"I just hope you're wrong, Urameshi . . ." Kuwabara muttered as they continued. "I really hope you're wrong . . ."  
  
***  
  
Eventually, Yusuke and Kuwabara reached a large chamber. It was a lot cleaner than the rest of the place, save for the piles of skeletons that littered the ground. In the center of the room there was a podium made of granite, and something was glowing faintly on it.  
  
Yusuke drew in a quick breath. "The Nauso flower . . . And it's the real one . . ."  
  
The black-haired Spirit Detective made a dash for the flower, grabbing it and yelling in triumphant glee. Kuwabara ran over and looked over his shoulder, also grinning happily.  
  
"We did it . . . Hiei's gonna be safe now . . ." Yusuke said quietly, before glancing over at his friend, his eyes slightly watery. "He's going to live!"  
  
"I never thought I'd say this, but I can't wait to see the shrimp!" Kuwabara exclaimed as they headed for the exit, but both of them froze when there was a flash of red light. Yusuke glanced down to see the delicate flower fading away . . .  
  
"No . . ." the two Spirit Detectives whispered simultaneously.  
  
A maniacal laughter suddenly filled the room, blaring from some unseen source. Yusuke and Kuwabara looked around wildly, panic showing in their eyes.  
  
They both looked up to see a transparent image of the pale demon, flickering every now-and-then, almost like a recording. His arms were crossed, and he was smirking dangerously.  
  
"Do you, thief, think you could get the Nauso Flower so easily? Naïve fool. Now, watch as my power reveals itself, you pathetic humans!" the demon yelled, spreading his arms. The room was suddenly filled with a bright red light, forcing Kuwabara and Yusuke to shut their eyes tightly. When they opened them, they gasped as they saw that they were surrounded by Nauso flowers, all of them copies.  
  
"Only one of them is real. Good luck trying to find it. Oh, and one more thing . . ." the demon sneered. "Each of the copies is coated with a death poison that you are immediately affected by. One touch, and you'll parish slowly and painfully . . . Happy hunting."  
  
The demon smirked once more before disappearing. Yusuke growled, clenching his fists. They were so close . . .  
  
Kuwabara gulped. "What do we do, Urameshi . . .?"  
  
'Dammit!' Yusuke thought. Time was running out! "Koenma had known that the other flower was a fake when he saw it . . . There has to be something different! . . . But what . . .?"  
  
~+~  
  
Kurama moaned as he opened his eyes, his body in horrible pain. Feeding close to all of his Life Energy to Hiei last night had left him very weak, and almost in the same condition as the fire youkai.  
  
The kitsune forced himself to turn and look at Hiei, whimpering slightly as a spasm of pain shook his body. He reached out and grasped Hiei's arm, clenching his teeth in agony. Kurama drew the fire youkai closer to him before letting go of his arm, sighing slightly, instead settling for just draping an arm around him.  
  
"Hiei . . ." Kurama whispered. Not expecting to receive a response, he closed his eyes.  
  
'I'm going to need a lot of time to recover from this . . . And if Hiei goes through what he did last night again, I won't be able to help him . . .' the kitsune thought. 'It'll be my fault if he dies . . . I can only rely on Yusuke and Kuwabara to get the Nauso flower in time . . .'  
  
"D-don't . . . worry, Kurama . . ."  
  
Kurama looked down in surprise at the sleeping fire youkai in his embrace before smiling. "It's not like I can help it, Hiei . . . I care about you too much to not worry about you."  
  
Hiei didn't respond, obviously, and just kept on 'sleeping'. Kurama slowly reached up to his face and softly caressed the youkai's cheek, a sad looking falling over his features.  
  
'I may as well get some rest. I need it . . .' Kurama thought before slowly closing his eyes and falling into a dreamless sleep. However, before he was completely asleep, he heard a faint whisper coming from Hiei.  
  
"Kurama . . ."  
  
====================================================  
  
A/N: That was horrible!!! ! ::bashes herself over and over again with a frying pan:: o_O And it was short! I hope I can make up for it!!!  
  
I've got to go and do my homework, now . . . It's 8:33pm, too. o_o; I have multiple things due tomorrow, too . . . A math sheet and journal page, questions for a story that we're reading, the rough drafts for my articles for the class newsletter, a replication of a mummy, and to top it all off . . . I have a terribly hard playing quiz in band that I haven't practiced yet because I've been to busy working on this story!!! ;-;! I can just imagine, if Kurama was here right now, he'd say something along the lines of, "School first, than pleasure." However, I'd just counter with a "Shut up, you sexy fox . . . Dang, you're right. "  
  
o_o;;; Oh woe is my life.  
  
~Agent Dark Moose 


	11. Victory

Chickenpox  
  
By: Agent Dark Moose  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Summary: When Yusuke and Kuwabara drag Kurama and an unwilling Hiei to the arcade, Hiei catches a terrible disease. That disease is . . . the chickenpox? (oO;)  
  
Disclaimer: YYH = not mine. Nauso Flower = mine. It's amazing how math can come into everyday life, ne?  
  
~Guide~  
  
~+~ Location Change  
  
*** Time change  
  
_. . ._ Emphasized  
  
~*+*~ Time AND Location Change  
  
Chapter Eleven: Victory  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
*From the Top*  
  
This chapter wouldn't have gotten out this soon if it wasn't for Fox . . . Jeez, she comes up with the best ideas! ^^  
  
I'm incredibly sorry for the long lack of updates, but I've been concentrating on my insert-you story, 'Kurama's Past, Your Future'. (It's really spiffy! Check it out if you have the time! ^^; )  
  
So, without further ado, I welcome chapter eleven of Chickenpox!  
  
====================================================  
  
Yusuke looked at the room that surrounded him as the flower seemed to multiply itself around him. The demon laughed softly, his illusionary form hovering about a foot above the floor. "Now detective," he said, grinning maniacally with his head bowed so the rim of his hat covered his eyes, "Let's play this little game of chance, shall we? You see, these flowers are not all false, the real one is in here somewhere, but the wrong ones are everywhere. I've disguised something quite unpleasant for you in them, a very poisonous substance. One touch . . ." the demon created an illusion of the Nauso flower to rest in his hand. ". . . and there will be no cure for you."  
  
He closed his hand around the flower that disappeared in a wisp of red smoke. Yusuke tensed, looking at the venomous flowers; he side-stepped away from a few that had taken up residence to close for his comfort. The demon grinned insanely at Yusuke, flashing his pure white fangs.  
  
"Take care, detective. Let this teach you not to steal anymore." he said before disappearing in a lingering wisp of light blue smoke.  
  
"Well, this is just great!" Yusuke muttered still annoyed by the demon's mind games. He kicked a rock to the side of the cavern, shoving his hands in his pockets. "How are we supposed to save Hiei if we're stuck in this death trap?!" He grumbled and glanced at the room now covered in the cream colored flowers, trying to find something different about any of them.  
  
"Hey!" exclaimed Kuwabara, looking toward the corner of the cavern "That one looks kinda different!" He trailed off as Yusuke turned toward the direction the redhead had directed him to. Kuwabara gawked at the detective.  
  
"Uh, are you sure that you should risk it?" he asked, concern slipping into his voice. Yusuke ignored him as he crouched next to the accused flower, eyeing it suspiciously. His best friend was right; it had a strange unearthly look to it. Yusuke stretched one hand out to it; a few more inches, and he'd have the cure . . .  
  
An exasperated 'tsk' echoed through the lair. Yusuke stopped halfway to the flower as he felt something under his chin. He looked up to see those disgusting yellow eyes of the illusion demon smirking at him.  
  
"Now, don't go and ruin my fun by spoiling the game this early!" he said, mockery dripping from ever word. The flower Yusuke had been reaching for faded away, leaving only a small pool of the deadly poison. Yusuke dropped his hand, shocked by the close encounter.  
  
The demon's ghostly hand followed the curve of Yusuke's jaw. "Shame, I didn't get to toy with you a bit more." he said softly. "We could of had such fun together . . ." His mouth was right next to Yusuke's ear, and the boy almost thought that he could feel his enemy's hot breath on his skin . . .  
  
The raven haired detective jerked away from the touch. "Keep your slimy hands off me, you sick bastard." he said wiping the offensive cold from where the demon's illusionary skin had touched his.  
  
Yusuke stood up from where he was and glared at the youkai. The demon laughed at him, clearly enjoying his discomfort.  
  
Yusuke growled, picking up a stone and hurling it through him. It landed on the other side of the room, hitting him and skidding through one of the illusionary flowers. The flower disappeared, leaving only a pool of silver poison in its place.  
  
Yusuke blinked, processing what he had seen. The demon's eyes narrowed, instantly losing their laughter.  
  
"No!" he yelled, obviously distressed. Now it was Yusuke's turn to smirk, and he flung another stone across the room, this time close to the floor, taking out a row of the false flowers.  
  
"Seems I've figured out your game." he said smugly.  
  
The mirrored demon growled "Not quite."  
  
The false demon closed his eyes, willing more of the illusory flowers to tangle in the bare plot the detective had created. Yusuke, unfazed, continued flinging stones across the floor. He smirked wider as he hit something solid and began to run to it.  
  
"NO!" The demon cried, and sacrificed the last of his energy to encircle the real Nauso flower in a tight ring of red, poisoned mirages.  
  
Yusuke stopped short of the deadly patch. The demon grinning, yet winded. "These, detective, won't be gotten through so easily. These are solid. You can't use your little trick on them."  
  
Yusuke looked at the garden of red flowers surrounding the one thing that he needed. How would he-  
  
Laughing. Kuwabara was . . . laughing? He looked at his friend, afraid that he had finally gone completely insane.  
  
"You know" he said amusedly, "Shizuru always wanted me to learn gardening . . . SPIRIT SWORD!"  
  
With the bolt of energy he sliced a path through the red flowers easily, smirking. Yusuke couldn't help but smile at the red-headed oaf.  
  
The demon, on the other hand, was clearly stressed. His lack of energy prevented him from creating more illusions. Once again he was reduced to glaring at Yusuke, who was strolling mockingly slow down the path that the Rekai-sword had created.  
  
"You have won. . ." their enemy growled in defeat, looking away as the boy reached for the flower.  
  
It was so much softer then the copy; it felt like the finest satin. The peach shine on its petals gave the flower a glossy finish. He picked it up gingerly and left the cavern as the demon illusion faded.  
  
Once the two detectives had gotten safely out of the demon's lair, Yusuke spoke up.  
  
"Um, good move. Back there, I mean." he sad to Kuwabara.  
  
"Yeah, thanks." Kuwabara replied, beaming at the praise he so little got. Yusuke smiled at the buffoon, clapping him on the back as they stepped out into the daylight.  
  
"Let's get this back to the Ningenkai." he said lifting the flower triumphantly to the blood red Makai sky.  
  
====================================================  
  
A/N: Yes, it's supposed to be short. I just wanted to wrap up the side- story, as Fox puts it. ^_^ The next chapters will be longer, and I'll update quicker because . . . I'M ON SPRING BREAK!!! ^o^  
  
I plan to get a lot of writing done; perhaps even finish this story . . . O_O; Wouldn't that be surprising?  
  
*NOTE TO ALL REVIEWERS*  
  
Ok, I'm setting a goal for this story . . . How about 100 reviews? I think that's a decent total, don't you think? ^^; Yes, I AM greedy.  
  
~Agent Dark Moose 


End file.
